X Mangave plant named ‘Dreadlocks’

ABSTRACT

A new and unique x  Mangave  plant named ‘Dreadlocks’ characterized by a medium mound of broad, semi-fleshy, longitudinally folded, grey-green foliage that is cascading or arches with age. The foliage has greyed-purple spots that intensify with strong ultraviolet light. Leaves have small, flexible marginal teeth. The new plant is suitable for the garden or as a potted plant in the garden or home.

Botanical classification: hybrid; Manfreda times Agave, known as xMangave.

Variety denomination: ‘Dreadlocks’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

The first public disclosure of the claimed plant, in the form of a sale,was made by Walters Gardens, Inc. on Nov. 27, 2017 to Plant DelightsNursery, Inc. in a private sale. Plants for this sale were obtained fromthe inventor. No plants of x Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’ have been sold, inthis country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the newplant been made, more than one year prior the filing date of thisapplication, and such sale or disclosure within one year was eitherderived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the new and distinct x Mangave hybridplant, x Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’ that was hybridized by the inventor at awholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA as a cross between anunreleased, unnamed, proprietary Manfreda maculosa x Agave gypsophylla(not patented) given the breeder code H10-02-01 as the female or seedparent times Manfreda ‘Chocolate Chip’ (not patented) as the male orpollen parent. The cross was performed on Mar. 27, 2014 and seeds wereharvested and sown later in the fall of 2014. Through trials at the samenursery the plant was assigned the breeder code 14-17-2. The new planthas been successfully asexually propagated by sterile shoot-tip tissueculture at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The asexual tissue culturepropagation has been found to produce stable and identical plants thatmaintain all the unique characteristics of the original plant.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

x Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’ differs from its parents as well as all otherManfreda, Agave and x Mangave known to the applicant. The female parenthas foliage that is shorter and less linear, thicker in cross section,has smaller marginal teeth, leaves are more fibrous and succulent, withmore significant mahogany spotting and less arching. The male parent issmaller in habit, has foliage that is shorter, narrower, less fibrous,and has less mahogany spotting and background. The nearest comparisonplants are ‘Spotty Dotty’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,917, ‘Freckles andSpeckles’ U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 15/932,464, ‘Mission toMars’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,393 and ‘Whale Tale’ U.S. Plant patentapplication Ser. No. 15/932,526. ‘Spotty Dotty’ has smaller foliage inlength and width, and lacks the coarsely sinuate margin and folding. Theteeth on ‘Spotty Dotty’ are also less flexible. ‘Freckles and Speckles’has a slightly more ovate leaf with the widest part near the middle ofthe leaf and has little to no folding up of the margins and slightlyless flexible marginal teeth. ‘Mission to Mars’ is larger in leaf andhabit with more intense reddish coloration in the foliage and lessmarginal folding and no sinuate margin. ‘Whale Tale’ has more bluishglaucous foliage, less greyed-purple spotting, less marginal folding andless sinuate margin. The marginal teeth on ‘Whale Tale’ are morepronounced and firmer. ‘Mint Chocolate Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,343is smaller in habit, has more folded leaves with more grayish greenfoliage with less overlapping mahogany spotting.

The new plant, ‘Dreadlocks’, is unique from all of the above cultivarsand all Agave, x Mangave and Manfreda known to the inventor by thefollowing combined traits:

-   -   1. Medium mound of medium grey-green lanceolate, broad,        semi-fleshy, longitudinally-folded, coarsely-sinuate foliage;    -   2. Foliage has greyed-purple spots that become more pronounced        in strong ultraviolet light;    -   3. Leaf margins have small, flexible, marginal teeth;    -   4. Moderate growth rate.    -   5. Foliage cascades or arches with age.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The photograph of x Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’ demonstrates the overallappearance of the new plant including the unique traits as athree-year-old plant grown in a trial garden with supplemental water andfertilizer as needed. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possiblewith color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, temperature, sourceand direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a three-year-old plant in a full-sun trialgarden.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the foliage of a two-year-old plant withsinuate margins and heavily folded leaves with small teeth.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. The new plant, x Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’,has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype mayvary slightly with different environmental conditions, such astemperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but withoutany change in the genotype. The following observations and sizedescriptions are of a two-year-old plant in a commercial wholesalegreenhouse in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer asneeded.

-   Parentage: H10-02-01, an unnamed select form of Manfreda maculosa    times Agave gypsophylla as female or seed patent and ‘Chocolate    Chip’ as the male or pollen parent;-   Propagation: By sterile shoot-tip tissue culture;-   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture: About 21 days;-   Growth rate: Moderate;-   Crop time: About 12 to 15 weeks to finish in a 3.8 liter container    from a 35 mm tissue culture growing at about 21° C.;-   Rooting habit: Fleshy, lightly branching, with roots up to 20 cm    long;-   Root color: Nearest RHS 158C;-   Plant shape and habit: Succulent herbaceous perennial with basal    rosettes of about 40 leaves radially emerging outwardly from central    stem, producing a radially-symmetrical, rounded mound;-   Plant size: Foliage height about 22.0 cm tall from soil line to the    top of the leaves and about 60.0 cm wide at the widest point    slightly below soil line in container or at the soil line in test    garden;-   Foliage description: Lanceolate; simple; sessile; bi-laterally    symmetrical; apex narrowly acute with terminal spine; soft terminal    spine to about 5.0 mm long; base truncate; conduplicate; margins    coarsely sinuate, average distance between waves about 3.0 cm;    margins finely dentate with soft flexible teeth; glabrous and    glaucous abaxial and adaxial; with abaxial and adaxial spots about    2.0 mm to 7.0 mm long and wide frequently touching or overlapping    especially toward proximal center;-   Teeth: Flexible; about 1.0 mm long and 1.0 mm wide at base of tooth    and about 4.0 mm apart on mature leaves;-   Leaf size: To about 45.0 cm long, about 8.2 cm wide toward base when    flattened, about 2.5 cm deep; about 4.0 mm thick at basal midrib;    average about 38.0 cm long, 8.0 cm wide and 4.0 mm thick;-   Foliage fragrance: None observed;-   Leaf number: About 40 per plant;-   Leaf blade color:    -   -   Adaxial (young).—Nearest blend between RHS N138C and RHS            N138D with spots nearest RHS 189A in low ultraviolet light            intensifying with high ultraviolet exposure to nearest RHS            N187A.        -   Abaxial (young).—Nearest blend between RHS N138C and RHS            189B with spots nearest RHS 189A in low ultraviolet light            intensifying with high ultraviolet exposure to nearest RHS            N187A.        -   Adaxial (mature).—Variable, nearest RHS NN137C distally and            nearest RHS 137B proximally with spotting of nearest RHS            N186B.        -   Abaxial (mature).—Between RHS N138B and RHS 137C with spots            between RHS N187A and RHS N187B.        -   Teeth.—Between RHS N170D and RHS N155D.        -   Terminal spine.—Nearest RES 197A.-   Petiole: Leaves sessile;-   Veins: Parallel; not distinct abaxial or adaxial;-   Flower description: Not yet observed;-   Fruit and seed not observed;-   Disease resistance: X Mangave ‘Dreadlocks’ has not been observed to    be resistant to diseases beyond that which is normal for x Mangave,    Agave or Manfreda. The new plant is xeromorphic and survives well    with minimal water once established. The new plant is estimated to    be hardy at least from USDA zone 9. Full extent of winter hardiness    has not been tested.

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of ornamental x Mangaveplant named ‘Dreadlocks’ as herein described and illustrated.